The philosopher wrote about the various purposivenesses he observed in biological systems, arguing that they hinted at an underlying design.

Critics of teleology questioned whether purposivity in complex organisms is a true property or just an illusion created by our interpretations.

He argued with the committee to no purpose, as their minds were already made up.

They were talking at cross purposes, each assuming the other supported the project.

Volunteers from different departments met weekly to coordinate efforts for common purposes.

Even though they sat in the same meeting, the marketing and engineering teams were at cross-purposes, pursuing different definitions of success.

At the dinner, they entertained themselves with cross-purposes, inventing questions and answers that combined absurdly unrelated ideas.

The committee members worked at cross-purposes, undermining the project's progress.

After the company moved its headquarters, the small local office was, to all intents and purposes, closed.

For all intrinsic purposes, the prototype behaves like the finished product and no further major adjustments are planned.